26 Aug 2056
Boise, Idaho
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by Fish McWilliams
Boise Spuds 74 57 .565 7.5 GB - WGB (wild card games back) - L10: 7-3, Strk: W4
Another barely winning Sim that resembled last week in that the Spuds collected a 4-game sweep. Except this week they were swept in the 3-game set and to a Calgary team that is right in the thick of the WC race. Calgary still sits behind Boise in the Wild Card race by 3.5 games. The Spuds trail Jacksonville by 0.5 games, and Las Vegas and Montreal factor in trailing Boise by only 4 and 4.5 games, respectively.
3B Gary Allen
123 G, 34 2B, 3 3B, 20 HR, 71 RBI, .281/.332/.494, 1 SB, +2.8 WAR
v Calgary 2-11 L
v Calgary 1-3 L
v Calgary 6-7 L
Yet again the Spuds drop a crucial series to a WC rival. And a sweep at that. Calgary showed that they meant business in Boise right from the start scoring 6 runs in the first 3 innings of the opening game. SP Gavrilovich Mastinsky allowed 6 hits and 6 runs in 2.1 IP and it was Katie bar the door from there. LF Grzegorz Kubrick and LF Paul Kemp each left 5 runners stranded. Can't do that. The middle game was much closer but was the same as the previous night in that Calgary put 2 runs on the board immediately. Calgary SP Shinsui Hasegawa shut the Spuds down completely tossing 8 innings allowing only one run. Calgary got the early boost in the finale as well. Boise's Mauro Mendoza was stung for 8 hits and 5 runs with 5 walks in 4 innings.
v Edmonton 11-5 W
v Edmonton 4-0 W
v Edmonton 2-1(11) W
v Edmonton 5-1 W
We said early in the year that these are the kinds of series the Spuds have to be winning to keep pace. This time they stepped up. Boise learned from their Calgary disaster and jumped all over Edmonton from first pitch. The Spuds put 9 on the board by the 5th inning and didn't look back. CF Lou Bayou was 4-for-4 with 3 runs, an RBI, and a stolen base. I guess jumping out in front was a good look for Boise as they did it again in the second game scoring 4 runs in the first 2 innings. Who else but SP Logan Hill would spin a shutout allowing only 2 hits and fanning 10. P Jeff Doane got the save in place of Harold Nothard who is taking a mental break we guess. The third contest was a beauty and worth 3 times the price of the ticket. The Jackrabbits touched Mastinsky for 1 run in the 2nd, but the righty held firm and left in the 6th having limited Edmonton to that. The bullpen took over from there and RF Cinema Jones drove in the tying run in the 7th. The 1-1 tie would send the game all the way to the 11th inning when 2B Tomás Durán scored the walkoff run on a double from SS Qutuz Mahdi. Boise starter Mark Baker took the hill for the finale and went 6 innings allowing only 4 hits and 1 run while notching 7 strikeouts. Mahdi was 3-for-4 in the contest.